With the Club’s first friendly match of the 2023 preseason around the corner, Inter Miami CF continues to strengthen its squad with the signing of the Venezuelan striker and one-time Landon Donovan MLS MVP Josef Martínez. The talented goalscorer achieved numerous accolades both individually and for the team during his six years at Atlanta United, including being crowned the 2018 Landon Donovan MLS MVP, leading the side to the franchises’ first MLS Cup title and to U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup titles as well, and winning the MLS Golden Boot.
“I’m excited to be here, we want to win and we want to be better than last year. Together with the beautiful stadium and the beautiful crowd we can create something special day by day and game by game,” said Martínez, who is widely known as El Rey.
South Florida has become a home to not just Martínez, but his family as well after he made the important decision to join Inter Miami and move to the area with his wife and newborn son. Now in his new home, he expressed how much he values the support from Venezuelans in the community and shared his love for the culture in the city and within the Club.
“I like what this club wants to accomplish. I like the atmosphere here. I’ve had many teammates come through here and they all tell me beautiful things. And we are Latinos, this club is Latino… This club wants important things. I am grateful to be here and I hope to give happiness to all of you.”
The 29-year-old Valencia, Venezuela native etched his name into MLS history books by becoming the fastest player to score 100 goals in just 125 appearances, scoring a total 103 league goals during his stint with the Georgia-based side, but he's not done yet.
“We have a good group and the desire to win. One of the things that impressed me the most is his [Phil Neville] desire to win. Jorge [Mas], Jose [Mas], and [David] Beckham have the dream of bringing this city the opportunity to win trophies. I know that it’s difficult, but we will fight to achieve it…
“It’s a new year and you always want to win. I just want to score, score, score. The most important thing for a striker is goals,” he stated.
Don’t miss the opportunity to see Martínez’s introduction on Saturday, Jan. 21 in a special halftime ceremony during Inter Miami’s international friendly against Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. To secure your chance to see the former MVP unveiled at DRV PNK Stadium, purchase tickets for the highly anticipated matchup HERE.
